Cabinet construction



Jan. 22, 1963 H. S. KESSLER ETAL CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 30. 1960 IHIIIHHIH @ff-MMM @www United States Patent C 3,074,772 CABINET CNSTRUCTION Harry S. Kessler, 4043 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago 24, Ill., and Seymour A. Kessler, Lincolnwood, Ill. (4043 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago 24, Ill.)

Filed Dec. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 79,589 2 Claims. (Cl. 312--204) This invention relates to an improved metal cabinet construction and more particularly to an improved construction for a front panel of the metal cabinet.

In many cabinets and especially in kitchen cabinets, the front panel or panels presents the principal esthetic features of a cabinet. In present-day construction of metal cabinets, a sacrifice is often made in the esthetic aspects of a kitchen cabinet in favor of greater strength and durability. The durability of these cabinets also presents to the housewife, especially in the case of kitchen cabinets, a problem in remodeling in that it is ditiicult to change the appearance of the cabinets. It is therefore one of the principal objects of therhereindisclosed invention to provide an improved front panel construction which allows the use of metal in cooperation with an esthetic material such as wood or a plastic-coated composition such as, Formica, to provide an etlicient construction which is structurally sound as well as esthetically pleasing.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a front panel construction which allows an esthetic or ornamental portion of the front panel to be easily removed and replaced by another type of ornamental plate to facilitate remodeling of a room, especially of a kitchen which has many cabinets.

It is a further object of the hereindisclosed invention to provide an improved front panel construction which provides a picture-frame effect for a front panel and the construction also provides for an improved rigidity of the front panel.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an economical front panel construction which is pleasing in appearance. p

Other objects and uses of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the appended specification in light of the accompanying drawing in which:

IFIGURE l is a perspective view of a portion of a kitchen cabinet showing a pair of doors and `a pair of drawers in which the front panels of said doors and drawers each embody the instant invention;

FlGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a frame which is used in the instant front panel construction and said frame is shown in a straight attitude;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view ofthe upper left hand corner of the left door front panelshown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a drawer and a door front panel taken on line 4 4 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a door front panel taken on line 5--5 of FIGURE l.

Referring now to the drawing and especially to FIG- URE 1, a kitchen cabinet generally indicated by numeral is shown having a pair of identical drawers 12 and 13 and a pair of identical doors 14 and :15. The drawers 12 and 13 and the doors 14 and 15 have front panels 16, 17, 18 and 19, respectively, each of which front panels has the same construction and embodies the instant invention.

Referring now to the specific construction of a front panel 18 of door 16, it may be seen that the front door panel generally consists of a base 24, a frame 26 which provides the picture frame eifect for the panel, and an ice ornamental plate 28 mounted on the base. In this in. stance, the base 24 is generally rectangular and is made of a single piece of sheet metal which includes a reef tangular back 30 which has a screw hole 31 adjacent to each corner. The back has on its outer periphery an upright edge 32 which is formed integral with the back. rPhe edge is perpendicular to the base as is clearly shown in FGURES 4 and 5.

The frame 26 is also made of a single piece of sheet metal. The frame includes a unitary outer riser fad-.which has a length equal to the distance around the outer periphery of the base and has a height substantially equalto the height of the upright edge of the base.

Formed integral with the outer rise is an inclined face 36 which denes a rectangle having its outer periphery substantially the same as the outer periphery of the base. The periphery of the inclined face. is a rectangle which is smaller than the base. The inclined face 36 includes four face members 36a, 36b, 36C and 36d. Each of the face members is formed integral with the outer riser and each face member forms an angle with the outer riser which is less than a right angle to provide an inward slope to the inclined face. An inner riser 3=8 having a height less than the outer riser is formed integral with the inner periphery of the inclined face. The inner riser, which has a height substantially equal to the thickness of the ornamental panel, includes four riser members 38a, 3811, 38C and 38d which are formed integral with the face members 36a, 36h, 36e and 36d, respectively. Each inner riser member forms an angle with its respective face member which angle is 4a supplementary angle to the angle between the respective face member and the outer riser. A flange 40 is formed integral with the inner riser and the ange completes the frame and includes four flange members 46a, 4Gb, 40e and 40d, which are integral with riser members 38a., 38b, 3 Sc and 38d, respectively. As may be seen in the drawings the liange members are substantially perpendicular to the respective riser members so that the flange is in a plane parallel to the back 30.

The frame is formed with the outer riser, inclined face, inner riser and flange formed into shape. Then, three appropriately spaced notches 42, 44 and 46 arecut into the frame and the ends of the frame are appropriately trimmed so that the frame is a long strip as shown in f FIGURE 2. The base is formed with the back having its upturned edge and the frame is then applied to the base by spot welding the flange members to the base` and the outer riser to the upturned edge making a plurality of spot welds 47. lt should be noted that inasmuch as the outer riser has a height which is substantially equal to the height of the upright edge, the uppermost edge of the upright edge engages the inner surface of the inclined surface to fix the position of the frame and the outer riser overlaps the upright edge to provide greater rigidity and a pleasing appearance. The door then has conventional hinges mounted thereon in a conventional manner which hinges are not shown in this instance, inasmuch as any appropriate hinges are satisfactory. The base and the frame is then painted with an appropriate color and then the ornamental panel 2S is applied. The ornamental panel which is also rectangular in form is placed within the inner periphery of the inclined face and a screw 50 extending through each of the holes 31 and embedded in the panel secure the ornamental panel to the base. The inclined face having its inner periphery at the same level as the outer surface of the ornamental panel provides a picture frame effect to the ornamental panel. Although the instant ornamental panel is a sheet of wood having an attractive grain, any other suitable material may be used such as, Formica, to provide the desired ornamentation for the cabinet. The ornamental panel m-ay be secured to the base by a suitable adhesive, I

but in any instance, the ornamental panel cooperates with the base and the frame to provide a rigid front panel. The panel is of course hung in a cabinet and ready for use. A handle such as handle S2 is applied to the door to provide a convenient gripping member for opening the door.

Front panel 16 for drawer 12 is made in the same manner as front panel 18, though the various parts have diiferent dimensions to produce a dilerent size as required. Front panel 16, which is above the front panel 18, includes a base 124 with a frame 126 and an ornamental panel 128 mounted on the base. The base 124 consists of a rectangular sheet metal back 130 which has an upright edge 132 integrally formed therewith. The frame [126, which is sheet metal also, includes an outer riser 134 with an inclined face 136 formed integral therewith. The inclined face 136 has formed integral with its inner periphery an inner riser 138 which has in turn formed integral therewith ange 140. The flange 140 is spot-welded to back 130 and the outer riser is spotwelded to the upright edge 132. The wooden ornamental panel 128 is removably attached to the back 130 by means of four screws 150 of which only one is shown in this instance.

It is clear from the foregoing description that in the event that it is desirable for remodeling to be done in a room such as a kitchen which has built-in cabinets, it is a simple matter to remove the ornamental panels and replace them with other desirable ornamental panels, either to change from a wood construction to a colored construction or to simply change colors. The instant construction also provides for a substantially greater rigidity of the liront panel inasmuch as the base with its upturned edge is reinforced by the frame which is spot welded to its outer periphery and the ornamental panel further increases the rigidity by its cooperation with the base. Thus, it is evident that the improved construction herein not only provides a more rigid economical front panel but also provides for improved esthetic appeal of the front panel.

While a specic embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention has been shown and described in detail, it is readily apparent that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention. It is to be expressly understood vthat the instant invention is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A front panel for use in a cabinet comprising, in combination, a metallic rectangular back, an upright edge formed integral with the outer periphery 'of said back, a unitary metallic outer riser spot-welded to the upright edge and having its opposite ends juxtapositioned each other at a corner of the back, an inclined face havi ing four face members, said inclined face generally deiining 'a hollow rectangle, each of said four face members being formed integral with the outer riser and defining an angle less than a right angle with the outer riser, each of said face members having its opposite ends juxtapositioned ends of adjacent face members, an inner riser having four riser members generally delining a hollow rectangle, each of said four riser members being formed integral with a respective face member of the inclined face, each riser member defining an angle with its respective face member which angle is supplementary to the angle between the face member and the outer riser, said inner riser being less in height than the outer riser to provide an incline inward for the inclined face, each of the riser members having its opposite ends juxtapositioned ends of adjacent riser members, a ange having four ilange members, each of said ange members being formed integral with and perpendicular to a respective riser member, said llange members being spot-welded to said back to fix the flange and the riser to the back, a rectangular plate having an ornamental surface and a thickness substantially equal to the height of the inner riser positioned Within the rectangle dened by the inclined face, and screws removably securing the plate to the back to provide rigidity to the front panel.

2. A front panel for use in a cabinet comprising, in combination, a rectangular ornamental plate, a tlange adjacent to said plate, said `flange having four ilange members being substantially parallel to the plate, a riser having a height substantially equal to the thickness of said plate and being adjacent to the outer periphery of said plate to conform to the configuration of the plate, said riser including four riser members, each riser member being integral with a respective ange member, an inclined face having four face members, each of said face members being formed integral with a respective riser member, each of said face members having its opposite ends abutting ends of adjacent face members providing a substantially continuous inclined face surrounding the outer periphery of the rectangular plate, a unitary outer riser being formed integral with each of the four face members on the outer periphery of the inclined face, said outer riser having its opposite ends adjacent to each other, an upright edge secured to the unitary outer riser, a rectangular back formed integral with the upright edge and being secured to` the four flange members, screws securing the back to the plate to make rigid the front panel, and a handle attached to the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 868,309 Wege O'ct. l5, 1907 1,911,165 Schmitz May 23, 1933 2,322,700 Mussey June 22, 1943 2,395,369 Burr Feb. 19, 1946 2,876,056 Berger Mar. 3, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 577,709 Great Britain May 29, 1946 

1. A FRONT PANEL FOR USE IN A CABINET COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A METALLIC RECTANGULAR BACK, AN UPRIGHT EDGE FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID BACK, A UNITARY METALLIC OUTER RISER SPOT-WELDED TO THE UPRIGHT EDGE AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS JUXTAPOSITIONED EACH OTHER AT A CORNER OF THE BACK, AN INCLINED FACE HAVING FOUR FACE MEMBERS, SAID INCLINED FACE GENERALLY DEFINING A HOLLOW RECTANGLE, EACH OF SAID FOUR FACE MEMBERS BEING FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE OUTER RISER AND DEFINING AN ANGLE LESS THAN A RIGHT ANGLE WITH THE OUTER RISER, EACH OF SAID FACE MEMBERS HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS JUXTAPOSITIONED ENDS OF ADJACENT FACE MEMBERS, AN INNER RISER HAVING FOUR RISER MEMBERS GENERALLY DEFINING A HOLLOW RECTANGLE, EACH OF SAID FOUR RISER MEMBERS BEING FORMED INTEGRAL WITH A RESPECTIVE FACE MEMBER OF THE INCLINED FACE, EACH RISER MEMBER DEFINING AN ANGLE WITH ITS RESPECTIVE FACE MEMBER WHICH ANGLE IS SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE FACE MEMBER AND THE OUTER RISER, SAID INNER RISER BEING LESS IN HEIGHT THAN THE OUTER RISER TO PROVIDE AN INCLINE INWARD FOR THE INCLINED FACE, EACH OF THE RISER MEMBERS HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS JUXTAPOSITIONED ENDS OF ADJACENT RISER MEMBERS, A FLANGE HAVING FOUR FLANGE MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID FLANGE MEMBERS BEING FORMED INTEGRAL WITH AND PERPENDICULAR TO A RESPECTIVE RISER MEMBER, SAID FLANGE MEMBERS BEING SPOT-WELDED TO SAID BACK TO FIX THE FLANGE AND THE RISER TO THE BACK, A RECTANGULAR PLATE HAVING AN ORNAMENTAL SURFACE AND A THICKNESS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF THE INNER RISER POSITIONED WITHIN THE RECTANGLE DEFINED BY THE INCLINED FACE, AND SCREWS REMOVABLY SECURING THE PLATE TO THE BACK TO PROVIDE RIGIDITY TO THE FRONT PANEL. 